Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 India Launch Soon?

A test mule of what appears to be the India-spec Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 has been spotted near Pune

The Husqvarna Svartpilen is a scrambler-style motorcycle range whereas the Vitpilen follows a cafe racer theme. Husqvarna entered India with the Vitpilen 250 and the Svartpilen 250. The brand is likely to expand with more premium offerings in the future.

A test mule of what appears to be the India-spec Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 has been spotted testing near Pune. You might argue it could be the Svartpilen 200. But Husqvarna is less likely to go below 250cc as it would want to maintain its premium quotient in India. Moreover, the 250cc twins are reasonably priced making them an ideal step into the world of Husqvarna. While most of the lineup (200, 250 and 401) looks more or less similar, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 200 gets a stubby exhaust system instead of a full-length unit that this test mule packs.

While the international-spec Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 gets spoke wheels for added authenticity, the one in the test mule is running on alloys. Husqvarna might’ve possibly gone the alloy route since it can accommodate tubeless tyres which are capable of handling punctures much better than the tubed ones on spoke wheels.

Moreover, the Svartpilen is only meant for light scrambling and is more of a niche lifestyle motorcycle than an out-and-out terrain tamer. So its target audience wouldn’t miss the spoke wheels all that much. The test mule also gets a minimalistic saree guard on the left side of the rear wheel, seemingly integrated into the tyre hugger. The alloy wheels seem to be from the Svartpilen 200. That makes sense because both the Svartpilen 200 and 401 ride on 17-inch units wrapped with 110-section front and 150-section rear block pattern tyres. Using the Svartpilen 200’s alloy wheels will also save the brand some money compared to developing one specifically for the India-spec Svartpilen 401.

In the international market, the Svartpilen 401 produces 43.5PS and 37Nm from the 373cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. The India-spec KTM 390 Duke also produces the same output figures in its BS6 guise, so expect the same power and torque numbers from the India-spec Svartpilen 401 too. Suspension and brakes are likely to remain the same as the international-spec model: 43mm open cartridge WP inverted front fork, WP rear monoshock, 300mm front, and 230mm rear disc with Bosch dual-channel ABS.

All in all, the test mule looks pretty much production-ready. We could see it hitting the roads by early-2021, along with the Vitpilen 401, provided things aren’t affected by the ongoing pandemic. Expect it to be priced at around Rs 3 lakh (ex-showroom).

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